Brief Stop In Newtown For 12.14 Foundation Goodwill Ambassador

By Nancy K. Crevier

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Photo: Nancy K. Crevier

In the area for a Hartford performance, country music star and 12.14 Foundation National Goodwill Ambassador Scotty McCreery, second from left, stopped in Newtown, Tuesday, February 25, to meet briefly with members of the Foundation. With Scotty are Foundation founder Dr Michael Baroody, left; Jay Winuk of Winuk Communications, Inc, also a board member; artistic director for the 12.14 Foundation Michael Unger; and board member Richard Pilbrow, founder and consultant with Theatre Projects out of South Norwalk.

Baseball and music have been his passions since he was young, said country music star Scotty McCreery, Tuesday, February 25, but music is “something I get to do,” not something he has to do, he said.

The other thing he gets to do, is represent the 12.14 Foundation of Newtown. Recently named the National Goodwill Ambassador for the Foundation, Scotty was at the Dana-Holcombe House on Main Street in Newtown, Tuesday, to meet with members of the Board of Directors of the 12.14 Foundation. It was an opportunity for board members to talk with Scotty about plans for the year moving forward, said board member Jay Winuk.

“Scotty is in town for just a few hours today. He flew in from Nashville last night for a performance up in Hartford. This was an opportunity to talk with him about the kinds of things we can have him actively engage in,” said Mr Winuk.

“Some of our greatest concerts are up here in the north,” said the North Carolina native. “There are good country music loving fans here. Country music is real, and tells real stories. I think that’s what appeals to younger folks,” he said. “We see kids from 5 to 95; there are all ages at my shows, and I’m always hoping to bring new folks to country music,” Scotty said.

Among those that he hopes to inspire and reach out to in particular, of course, are the youth of Newtown and Sandy Hook. “I’ve never experienced anything on the level of what happened here at Sandy Hook. But my goal, and the goal of the 12.14 Foundation, is to provide healing and long term hope for these kids. My job is to get the word out of what we’re trying to do here — it’s across the country that I’m spreading the word,” said Scotty.

As the 12.14 Foundation continues to work toward promoting, funding, and building a world-class performing arts center in Newtown that will offer artistic and educational opportunities for years to come, Scotty said he is hopeful that other country artists will join him in this effort. “I definitely see other country music artists coming on board,” he said, “once we tell them what we’re about. They would do that.”